Random Lockup/BSOD issues

Doovde · 25 Dec 2013 at 20:44

Hi Guys,

First off sorry for this hideously bad layout of a post but i'm having major issues with my pc locking up or BSOD on me recently so i've a bulletpoint list of problems/noteworthy actions as they occurred.

Computer Spec

Computer age is around ~6 years and has not been changed since it was bought, all from overclockers shore no less.

Gigabyte EX58-UD3R
Core i7 8core 920 @ 2.7
ATI AMD Radeon HD 4870
3x2GB DDR3 RAM
Vista Ultimate x64
1000w modular PSU
26" LCD TV as monitor via HDMI which is changed to 32" LED TV monitor Via HDMI

Problems/fixes in order of occurrence, some may not be relevant but thought i'd best include info anyway.

Weird GFX bug/ BlueSOD when playing Metro Last Light
Few days later tried the game again, same problem.
Windows update installs overnight, external speakers on PC stop working and require to be unplugged/plugged back into the rear of PC before working again. Volume mixer has weird graphical error. Several days/reboots later speakers begin to function without needing unplugged and mixer graphic error stops
Computer BSOD when playing eve online "physical memory dump"
LCD TV i was using as a monitor begins to have problems, can't start itself from standby, required power to be turned off completely for several hours before attempting to turn on again.
Computer froze up on boot up followed by a BSOD and another freeze "ati *something*.sys driver failed to load"
Tried removing latest windows update, no change.
Updated GFX card drivers threw device manager, driver updated with no change
Used windows tool to check RAM - no problems reported
LCD TV dies altogether, replaced with LED TV
Several computer lock ups shortly after booting, one occurred when changing tab from notepad to firefox
Started monitoring gfx temperatures, sitting at 81d (never seen i read anything different from day of purchase)
Took manual control of gfx card fan via CCC/ATI overdrive, keeping temperatures below 60d - setting fan speed to 100% when trying to load a game which doesn't seem to help as BSOD/Freeze happens shortly after
Noticed that under device manager "AK3LOFAL IDE Controller" is flagged "Windows cannot load the device driver for this hardware. The driver may be corrupted or missing. (Code 39)
" - used "update driver" option with no success, flag is still there.
Downloaded and attempted to install CCC, installer reported that it is already installed and everything was up to date
Uninstalled GFX car via safe mode, restarted computer to self install, nothing changed
Blew out excessive dust from case and removed side panel to reduce CPU + GPU temps (-10d of both)
Noticed that something in the tower (i suspect GFX card) makes odd sanding/griding noise when under strain, such as loading a game or moving around an image with the grab tool in windows media gallery.
Noise happens after i try to load a game which causes system lockup/bsod shortly afterwards. Note the grinding noise does not appear to be the cooling fan.
Icon for network connection beside clock is showing as not connected, yet computer is connected to Internet and working fine
- Posts ramble on overclocksers forum

Sorry if this bulletpoint diary of problems is messy but it the easiest way to give an accurate timeline of what happened what i tried to resolve it

I've read through a similar post to mine posted not long ago on here, people where saying to remove parts from the computer, i am however ham fisted and have no finesse with fragile parts so removing hardware from the tower isn't an option for me to test things.

People i've spoken too about these problems have said it could be a range of things, damaged/dieing RAM/PSU/GPU but what do you guys think?

Thanks in advance

wazza300 · 25 Dec 2013 at 20:57

Howmuch qpi/vtt voltage in the BIOS? If stock I would manually set to atleast 1.25v maybe even 1.3v then see if its more stable

Doovde · 25 Dec 2013 at 21:29

I'm unsure what the voltage is to be honest, but whatever the voltage is, its been like that since it was built and i'd be a bit wary of messing with voltages encase it is the PSU and i cant get the computer to boot at all.

This pc has been faultless up until these issues, so i've never needed to mess with voltages or even fan speeds before.

wazza300 · 25 Dec 2013 at 22:10

You could test with a new psu,but raising qpi/vtt voltage won't hurt,even at stock,I ran my 920 chip at 1.35v for years without issue

Qpi/vtt is for the integrated memory controller inside the CPU,random crashes can be down to not enough voltage

Try and catch the bsod code

0x000000124 for example,can also test the memory in memtest86 to see if any errors crop up

Calpol · 25 Dec 2013 at 22:59

Not sure if I can help but your probs have some similarities with my own over the last few days.

I too have the HD4870.

The rest of my rig is a bit older. Q6600 cpu. I don't game much but bought Lego LOTR in the Steam sale for my eldest to play. The thing wouldnt get past the first cut scene without shutting down. Mucked around with the setting on the game but to no avail - even on minecraft settings it crashed. I thought it might be the PSU so bought a new one from OCuk.

Still no joy. In fact i was even struggling to get a boot without the display failing.

Picked up another GFX card from a forum and installed it and everything is fine again.

Don't now if it was driver related or what but the HD4870 was getting really hot even at idle. I can only put it down to a fried GPU as the newer one seems to have solved the problem and is now playing anything that is thrown at it.

The HD4870 is quite a power hungry card and I am actually quite glad to get rid of it. I picked up a Zotac GTX650 Ti Amp as a replacement. Not bad for £50.

Doovde · 25 Dec 2013 at 23:20

wazza300 said:
You could test with a new psu,but raising qpi/vtt voltage won't hurt,even at stock,I ran my 920 chip at 1.35v for years without issue

Qpi/vtt is for the integrated memory controller inside the CPU,random crashes can be down to not enough voltage

Try and catch the bsod code

0x000000124 for example,can also test the memory in memtest86 to see if any errors crop up

Thanks for the advice, next time the computer locks up on me and needs a reboot i'll try and up the power and see what happens. But there must be an underlaying problem since i've gotten nearly 6 years out of it as-is, so would rather find and eliminate the problem rather than try and lengthen the life of a dieing piece of hardware.

Calpol said:
Not sure if I can help but your probs have some similarities with my own over the last few days.

I too have the HD4870.

The rest of my rig is a bit older. Q6600 cpu. I don't game much but bought Lego LOTR in the Steam sale for my eldest to play. The thing wouldnt get past the first cut scene without shutting down. Mucked around with the setting on the game but to no avail - even on minecraft settings it crashed. I thought it might be the PSU so bought a new one from OCuk.

Still no joy. In fact i was even struggling to get a boot without the display failing.

Picked up another GFX card from a forum and installed it and everything is fine again.

Don't now if it was driver related or what but the HD4870 was getting really hot even at idle. I can only put it down to a fried GPU as the newer one seems to have solved the problem and is now playing anything that is thrown at it.

The HD4870 is quite a power hungry card and I am actually quite glad to get rid of it. I picked up a Zotac GTX650 Ti Amp as a replacement. Not bad for £50.

Hi Calpol,

What your described is very similar to the problems I'm having. If i can get a diagnosis of exactly what part of the hardware has failed I'll most likely base it around a complete rebuild of the pc.